


move on in real close

by bestliars



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minnesota Wild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-18 05:57:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1417718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bestliars/pseuds/bestliars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan wishes Zach would stop getting hurt, but at least he’s here to make sure Zach’s going to be fine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	move on in real close

**Author's Note:**

> This injury did actually happen. Parise said it was just a surface cut and that he was fine. If you ever wondered if Zach Parise was the type to say something’s “just a flesh wound” now you know. Sadly, I’m not surprised.  
> STELLARER CHOSE THE TITLE. IT’S BEYONCE. IT’S NOT MY FAULT. Stellarer is the best, she betaed this, she’s pretty.

Ryan doesn’t see what happens, he just hears about it. Zach takes a boarding penalty a minute and a half into overtime. That’s weird enough, Zach doesn’t usually _board people_ — he’s kind of small. It turns out that the really weird thing about that play was how Tanev’s skate blade comes up and _cuts Zach’s inner thigh._ Not that Ryan knew anything about this at the time.

After getting out of the box Zach didn’t say anything. He played another shift, tried to get some good offensive pressure to end the game in regulation. When that didn’t work he was the first up in the shootout. Zach’s try gets stopped, and the night drags on, and on, until Fontaine manages the only goal in the seventh round.

Ryan’s following Zach down the tunnel to the locker room when he hears Zach tell the trainer, “Hey, so my leg got cut in OT.”

Ryan hears this, and does not like it at all. But it’s not like he can say anything really. They’re hockey players. These things happen. They get hurt, and keep going. Ryan does this himself, so he can’t really complain. Instead he frets quietly.

He’s distracted getting undressed, because Zach’s getting his cut looked at. It isn’t a bad cut, more like a deep scratch than anything, but the trainers put some antiseptic on it, and cover it up so it doesn’t rub against his pants. But really, it’s not bad, just kind of awkwardly placed.

Ryan hears all that, and he even mostly believes it. (They’ve gotten better about communicating about their health this year. December was a small disaster, but eventually Zach stopped trying to play on a broken foot and they figured it out.) That doesn’t mean he isn’t worried. He’ll feel better after he’s seen it himself, but first there’s a plane ride from Vancouver, and then the drive from the airport. By the time they get home it’s _late,_ and all either of them are thinking about is sleep. Ryan’s even too tired to worry properly.

That means in the morning Ryan has hours and hours of accumulated concern built up. He’s generally an earlier riser than Zach, and today isn’t an exception. So he’s awake, lying there, curled around Zach, thinking about this cut that he hasn’t seen yet. It isn’t a particularly enjoyable way to start the day.

He’s just curious. A little bit concerned. But mostly curious. He just wants to know what’s there.

That’s what wakes Zach up.

Zach’s voice is scratchy with sleep, rough and mumbling as he says, “I’ve woken up with your hand on my thigh before, and this isn’t me complaining, but this time’s a little bit different, yeah?”

Maybe a little. Ryan had been trying not to knock away all the covers while still getting a decent look. 

“I just…” 

It’s hard to explain. He needs to know that Zach is okay, and he needs that to not seem weird.

“Well, I’m awake now, so if you want to see, you can just, like...It’s fine,” Zach says.

Ryan nods.

Zach raises his hips off the mattress to pull off his boxers. The bandage is already barely hanging on, and Zach pulls off the remaining tape.

It’s just a red line, hardly more than a scratch, not nearly as bad as Ryan had imagined. He couldn’t get past the worst-case what ifs. 

But it’s still a cut. It still shouldn’t be there. Ryan likes Zach’s skin unbroken. People wear kevlar socks to stop skate cuts. It’d probably be overkill to get Zach kevlar briefs, but it’s not the worst idea ever. Not the absolute worst anyway.

It wouldn’t be good to actually touch the cut, but Ryan runs his hand alongside it, tracing its path.

Ryan doesn’t move his hand away. He doesn’t like this. Zach’s thighs are supposed to be safe. They’re supposed to be protected, and private, and well, _his,_ on some level. If there are going to be any marks on Zach’s inner thigh it should be something Ryan leaves himself, not from an opponent's skate blade.

Ryan runs his hand along Zach’s leg, next to the cut. He’s trying to be comforting, but isn’t sure whether it’s more for Zach or for himself. He just wants to make it better.

Zach inhales sharply. He’s starting to get hard. That isn’t what Ryan had been thinking of, but it makes sense. Normally if he’s touching Zach like this it’s leading to sex. It might as well be now. They don’t have to be anywhere else today.

Ryan doesn’t like seeing Zach’s smooth skin interrupted like this. It’s not fair or good. Clearly he has to leave marks of his own on the other side. That's reasonable, not possessive and weird. Or at least, Zach's not going to judge him for it.

Definitely not. 

Zach seems appreciative, or at least he's into having Ryan's mouth that close to his cock. It's good for both of them for sure. 

Ryan just wants to put a whole row of marks on Zach's leg, like a mirror of the cut, and there isn't any reason why he shouldn't. Zach's fingers are tangled in his hair, kinda steadying, not holding him down but keeping him close. Zach's hips are twitching, like he's trying not to move. 

Ryan looks up from where he had been biting another mark to see that Zach's all the way hard now, with his hand on his cock. Ryan kind of wants to keep doing what he's doing, but also wants to help out. 

He pulls away a little bit, sitting back on his heels, and looks at Zach who is flushed all over, hair messy from sleep, breathing heavily. 

Ryan looks down at all the marks he left, new and red. He feels proud of himself. There's a very faint fading mark on Zach's shoulder, a reminder of the sex they had after the medal game. They were on the other side of the world, and Ryan had just had a horrible showing, but Zach was still his and that made it all a little bit better. 

That doesn’t matter right now. That's just a fading bruise. They won last night, and in the process Zach picked up a new cut which has to be answered by a half dozen love bites. Now Zach is hot in front of him, jerking off with one hand, teasing his nipples with the other. It would be a shame to leave Zach to take care of things on on his own. 

Ryan's already had his mouth between Zach's legs once today. At this point a blow job is just the next logical step. Ryan goes for it, not wanting to tease any longer. Zach is babbling at him, nonsense about how good it is, how Ryan is so good, how this is all he's ever wanted. It doesn't all make sense, but it sure is flattering . 

Ryan presses his hips against the mattress, happy for a bit of friction. He likes being surrounded by Zach like this, the familiarity of it all. Zach's the first person he ever went down on. Now it's over a decade later, and he has Zach's dick in his mouth, in the bedroom they share. It's strange how life works out like that; Ryan loves it.

"Just, I, Ryan, gosh."

Totally. Exactly. Ryan swallows around Zach as he starts to come, shaking a little bit. Ryan sucks him through it. He doesn’t love the taste, but he doesn’t mind it either, and he loves Zach

Ryan pulls off, rests his head against Zach’s hip to catch his breath. This would be better if it didn’t mean looking at the cut. It’s nothing, barely more than a scratch, but seeing it makes Ryan think about how it could have been so much worse, the blade could have gone deeper, could have been a little bit higher, could have found a vein. Getting cut was unlucky, but considering all that, Zach got lucky with how it turned out. He’s fine. The most serious blow was to Ryan’s peace of mind.

Fortunately he can’t dwell on this for long. Zach nudges at his shoulder, urges him back up the bed. Ryan obliges, moving so they’re lying side by side. Zach kisses him, deep and hard, surely tasting himself in Ryan’s mouth. Ryan kisses back, only pulling away to gasp when Zach gets a hand on his dick.

Zach pushes down Ryan’s boxers and pajamas. Ryan’s been hard for a while, turned on by Zach’s reactions and the taste of his skin. It feels so good to finally have someone touching him. Zach’s hand is moving fast on his cock, a little bit dry, with just spit and precome, but still good. Ryan tries to bury his face in Zach’s neck, but Zach’s free hand cups the side of his face, tilting his head so they’re kissing. Ryan takes shaky breaths and lets Zach kiss him. He presses into Zach’s hand and lets himself get swept up in it.

Ryan shudders when he comes, and bites Zach’s lip. Zach doesn’t seem to mind. He strokes Ryan through it, doesn’t let the kiss end until Ryan is absolutely breathless and has to pull away. Even then they’re still close, skin sticking together.

Ryan takes a deep breath, exhales against Zach’s neck. Such a good way to start the day. Ryan woke up worried, and he hasn’t entirely let go of that yet, but his concerns seem a lot further away. He can set aside the what-ifs. Zach’s fine, they both are, and they’re here together. They're lucky to have this life, they’re lucky to wake up in the same bed. They’re lucky, even if it means picking up some cuts and bruises along the way.


End file.
